THE BOOK OF
CHURCH ORDER
OF THE
PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
IN AMERICA
Sixth Edition
(Includes all amendments approved up to and including
the 35th General Assembly, in Memphis, TN, June 2007)
Published by
The Office of the Stated Clerk
of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America
Distributed by
The Committee for Christian Education and Publications
1700 North Brown Road, Suite 102
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043-8143
1-800-283-1357
http://www.pcaac.org/BCO%202007%20Combined%20for%20Web.pdf
(The following is an extract from the Book of Church Order, 2007 edition, Chapter 24.)
FORM OF GOVERNMENT 24-1
CHAPTER 24.
Election,
Ordination and Installation of Ruling Elders and Deacons
Election
24-1. Every church shall elect persons to the offices of ruling elder and
deacon in the following manner: At such times as determined by the Session,
communicant members of the congregation may submit names to the Session, keeping
in mind that each prospective officer should be an active male member
who meets the qualifications set forth in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. After the
close of the nomination period nominees for the office of ruling elder and/or
deacon shall receive instruction in the qualifications and work of the office.
Each nominee shall then be examined in:
a. his Christian experience, especially his personal
character and family management (based on the qualifications set out in 1
Timothy 3:1-7
and Titus 1:6-9),
b. his knowledge of Bible content,
c. his knowledge of the system of doctrine, government,
discipline contained in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America
(BCO Preface III, The
Constitution Defined),
d. the duties of the office to which he has been nominated,
and
e. his willingness to give assent to the questions required
for ordination. (BCO 24-6)
If there are candidates eligible for
the election, the Session shall report to the congregation those eligible,
giving at least thirty (30) days prior notice of
the time and place of a congregational meeting for elections.
If one-fourth (1/4) of the persons
entitled to vote shall at any time request the Session to call a congregational
meeting for the purpose of electing additional officers, it shall be the duty of
the Session to call such a meeting on the above procedure. The number of
officers to be elected shall be determined by the congregation after hearing the
Session’s recommendation.
24-2. The pastor is, by virtue of his office, moderator of congregational
meetings. If there is no pastor, the Session shall appoint one of their number
to
call the meeting to order and to preside until the congregation shall elect
their presiding officer, who may be a minister of the Presbyterian Church in
America or any male member of that particular church.
24-3. All communing members in good and regular standing, but no others,
are entitled to vote in the election of church officers in the churches to which
they
respectively belong. A majority vote of those present is required for election.
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24-4 THE BOOK OF CHURCH ORDER
24-4. The voters being convened, the moderator shall explain the purpose
of the meeting and then put the question:
Are you now ready to proceed
to the election of additional ruling elders (or deacons) from the slate
presented?
If they declare themselves ready, the
election may proceed by private ballot without nomination. In every case a
majority of all the voters present
shall be required to elect.
24-5 On the election of a ruling elder or deacon, if it appears that a
large minority of the voters are averse to a candidate, and cannot be induced to
concur
in the choice, the moderator shall endeavor to dissuade the majority from
prosecuting it further; but if the electors are nearly or quite unanimous, or if
the
majority insist upon their right to choose their officers, the election shall
stand.
Ordination and Installation
24-6. The day having arrived, and the Session being convened in the
presence of the congregation, a sermon shall be preached after which the
presiding minister shall state in a concise manner the warrant and nature of the
office of ruling elder, or deacon, together with the character proper to be
sustained and the duties to be fulfilled. Having done this, he shall propose to
the candidate, in the presence of the church, the following questions, namely:
1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and
New Testaments, as originally given, to be the inerrant Word of God, the only
infallible rule of faith and practice?
2. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith and the Catechisms
of this Church, as containing the system of
doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures; and do you further
promise that if at any time you find yourself out of accord with
any of the fundamentals of this system of doctrine, you will,
on your own initiative, make known to your Session the change
which has taken place in your views since the assumption of
this ordination vow?
3. Do you approve of the form of government and discipline of the Presbyterian
Church in America, in conformity with the general
principles of biblical polity?
4. Do you accept the office of ruling elder (or deacon, as the case may be) in
this church, and promise faithfully to perform all the
duties thereof, and to endeavor by the grace of God to adorn
the profession of the Gospel in your life, and to set a worthy example
before the Church of which God has made you an officer?
5. Do you promise subjection to your brethren in the Lord?
6. Do you promise to strive for the purity, peace, unity and edification of the
Church?
05
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
24-6
The ruling elder or deacon elect having answered in the affirmative, the
minister shall address to the members of the church the following
question:
Do you, the members of this church, acknowledge and receive this brother as a ruling elder (or deacon), and do you promise to yield him all that honor, encouragement and obedience in the Lord to which his office, according to the Word of God and the Constitution of this Church, entitles him?
The members of the church having answered this question in the affirmative, by
holding up their right hands, the candidate shall then be set apart, with prayer
by the minister or any other Session member and the laying on of the hands of
the Session, to the office of ruling elder (or deacon). Prayer being ended, the
members of the Session (and the deacons, if the case be that of a deacon) shall
take the newly ordained officer by the hand, saying in words to this effect:
We give you the right hand of fellowship, to take part in this office with us.
The minister shall then say:
I now pronounce and declare that ____________________ has been regularly elected, ordained and installed a ruling elder (or deacon) in this church, agreeable to the Word of God, and according to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America; and that as such he is entitled to all encouragement, honor and obedience in the Lord: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
After which the minister or any other member of the Session shall give to the ruling elder (or deacon) and to the church an exhortation suited to the occasion.
24-7. Ordination to the offices of ruling elder or deacon is perpetual;
nor can such offices be laid aside at pleasure; nor can any person be degraded
from either office but by deposition after regular trial; yet a ruling elder or
deacon may have reasons which he deems valid for being released from the active
duties of his office. In such a case the Session, after conference with him and
careful consideration of the matter, may, if it thinks proper, accept his
resignation and dissolve the official relationship which exists between him and
the church.
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24-7 THE BOOK OF CHURCH ORDER
The ruling elder or deacon, though
chargeable with neither heresy nor immorality, may become unacceptable in his
official capacity to a majority of the church which he serves. In such a case
the church may take the initiative by a majority vote at a regularly called
congregational meeting, and request the Session to dissolve the official
relationship between the church and the officer without censure. The Session,
after conference with the ruling elder or deacon, and after careful
consideration, may use its discretion as to dissolving the official
relationship. In either case the Session shall report its action to the
congregation. If the Session fails or refuses to report to the congregation
within sixty (60) days from the date of the congregational meeting or if the
Session reports to the congregation that it
declined to dissolve such relationship, then any member or members in good
standing may file a complaint against the Session in accordance with the
provisions of BCO 43.
24-8. When a ruling elder or deacon who has been released from his official relation is again elected to his office in the same or another church, he shall be installed after the above form with the omission of ordination. 24-9. When a ruling elder or deacon cannot or does not for a period of one year perform the duties of his office, his official relationship shall be dissolved by the Session and the action reported to the congregation.
24-10. When a deacon or ruling elder by reason of age or infirmity desires to
be released from the active duties of the office, he may at his request and
with the approval of the Session be designated deacon or elder emeritus. When so
designated, he is no longer required to perform the regular duties of
his office, but may continue to perform certain of these duties on a voluntary
basis, if requested by the Session or a higher court. He may attend Diaconate
or Session meetings, if he so desires, and may participate fully in the
discussion of any issues, but may not vote.
Editorial Comment: The General Assembly explicitly provided that those
Elders and Deacons granted emeritus status prior to June 22, 1984, retain the
privilege of vote. (By order of the Fifteenth General Assembly 15-83, III, 31).
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